Letting Ana Go

This first-person journal-style book "tracks" the anaorexic journey of a normal teen girl.

The narrator is a cross-country runner. Her coach has warned the team of eating disordered athletes and insists that all runners complete a food diary to ensure that they are eating sufficient calories to maintain their physical fitness. The narrator--I'll call her "Ana" though she remains unnamed throughout--does this. She's committed to her team and her success as a runner. Her BFF, Jill, is a ballerina. She helps Ana to find online/mobile app resources to track her food intake better. All is going well, though it is clear that Jill is showing signs of anorexia--she's desperate to lose weight so she can get the lead in The Nutcracker.

Meanwhile, Ana's father is a horse's pah-toot. He lavishes attention on Ana, and ignores or fat shames his wife. Shortly into the journal we learn that he's been having an affair and he leaves. Ana'a distraught at the collapse of her family--and has trouble eating, but the running helps stabilize her mood. She inadvertantly loses a few pounds--no worries. In fact, that's great as far as she's concerned because her mom is a fat mess and NO WONDER her dad left. The disordered thinking begins.

Ana goes on a trip with Jill and her family--with Jill older brother Jack showing all sorts of interest. Is it because she's lost weight? Jill's mom thinks so. Her subtle comments and flawless appearance reinforce Ana's thoughts that being thin is better. Meanwhile, Jill convinces Ana to drop her caloric intake in solidarity--so they can both lose weight together. Dropping more weight allows Ana to run faster times than ever. She's promoted to captian of the cross-country team. Other friends become alarmed. Vanessa must just be jealous, right?

Jill gets her dream role in the ballet. Her dad is pushing his new, slender, beautiful girlfriend in Ana's face. Her mother balloons, drowning her depression in ice cream and bacon.

Ana and Jack are a tight item, but will he still love her if she gains weight? He asks her to Homecoming and his mom takes her dress shopping with Jill. The most Beautiful Dress Ever is purchased, even if it's too tight. She only has to lose 8 more pounds to fit. Jack won't look away like her dad did if Ana is the most beautiful girl at Homecoming. Only 8 pounds.

Yes. It progresses. It gets worse. Ana is a shell of the girl who began the journal. It is a harrowing, realistic protrayal of a person being so trapped in negative psychology she can't eat anything without self-hatred and guilt. There is a good dose of the online community that celebrates "Thinspiration" and anorexia. There are real efforts to bring Ana back from the edge before she tumbles over. Medical bills and insurance battles ensue, but the time runs faster than Ana. Damage is done, and all that is left are broken hearts.

The journal-style is taut. It is clean and free of fluff. Ana is disturbed. She is lying to everyone, including herself, but she can't see anything clearly as a result of the disease. Having seen disorders like this in my own life--it felt painfully true. And frightening. Because--out there somewhere--TODAY another "Ana" is falling over the edge. And that's the scariest part. How real this all is.

Read this book.

Trigger warning! At least for me. I'm not anorexic in the slightest but I do get bad anxiety whenever I think too long about food, weight, calories, carbs etc., so it was a roller coaster getting through this book. Overall I did think this was a good book, it didn't feel real and talked about the real nitty gritty dangers of anorexic / bulimic behavior. Worth reading if you've enjoyed any of the other "Anonymous" style books.

Letting Ana Go is such a surreal and heartbreaking novel that at times it was extremely difficult to keep turning the pages. There were so many things that I wanted to say to these beautiful young girls that had wonderful lives ahead of them and instead I had to sit back and slowly watch each of them take their own lives. Why? Because of a horrific sickness that tricks your brain into thinking something that is completely false. This sickness is actually a disease called anorexia.

As a recovered anorexic I find this book insightful and spot on. Many times writers, therapists, and doctors talk about eating disorders to patients without fully understanding them--this author did their research. I felt like this was my own story, I was 15, had a boyfriend who was much like Jack...very relateable to myself and I'm sure others.
With that being said: IF YOU ARE IN RECOVERY, FRESHLY OUT OF REVOVERY OR STRUGGLING WITH AN E.D DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. It's been 6 years since my anorexia and the book was still slightly triggering. It was a powerful and heartbreaking story though and i recommend it to those who are healthy and recovered for a while.
I would not recommend this book to teenagers, boy or girl. This is more of a book for adults--in my opinion.

This book is extremely inaccurate from start to finish. It was almost definitely written by an author who has never had an eating disorder, and therefore doesn't understand the mind of someone with an eating disorder. The protagonist's anorexia friendship with Jill literally does not happen in real life.

If you want to read Letting Ana Go for entertainment, do it. But if this book has been suggested for your anorexia recovery, buy it and hit whomever recommended it over the head with it.

This was a heart wrenching journey, but well worth the time to read and feel the end message. It is a devastatingly honest account of a young woman whom is facing addiction to weight loss which ultimately leads to anorexia and eventually to death. I honestly cried like a friend of mine was dying. I think all teens should read.

I'm surprised this book has gotten such high reviews so far, because it's probably one of the worst books I have ever read.
It read like a How to manual for about 3/4ths of it. I could perfectly do every single step in this book and lose 20 pounds. And then of course, no downside is presented till the end. Oh, you want to lose 20 pounds in a month? Okay sure just starve yourself and you'll get a super hot boyfriend, be able to run way faster, and just overall feel healthier! Yeah no. It painted anorexia in such a wonderful light that by the end of it I found myself thinking "oh that doesn't sound so bad..." until the tragic cop-out of an ending.
Speaking of the ending... The writing was terrible. It's supposed to sound like a 16 year old girl writing in her journal, but even 16 year old girls can write better than this. Come on, let's give 16 year old girls more credit than this.
The ending was so cheap it was obvious that the writer just didn't know how to finish it and instead just sorta... stopped writing.
It wasn't touching or emotional. It was triggering. I have finished this book with a sudden new-found hatred for my body and just so much anger.
Another commenter has posted that they think all teenage girls and their mothers should read this, but I so WILDLY disagree. Anyone with even the slightest self esteem issues should stay away from this book. If even part of you wishes you could lose 5 pounds, look away. Just get away from this book.

Reading this book made me hungry...oops! The girl's journal and journey started out by little things, little changes, less calories, more exercising. Seems perfectly normal to her. Eat a little less, work out a little more. Lose a couple of pounds. No big deal. It was a sad story and one that happens far too often. And I can even see sufferers of eating disorders reading this and thinking "But I'm not like that. I'm different." when that's just not true.

This book accurately depicts the slow decline from casual "dieting" to anorexia and other eating disorders. It is a true story and is put together by one of my favorite authors evert because everything she published is the truth. I highly recommend this book.

I really love the books by Anonymous, even if they might be only works of fiction. They deal with real life situations, and this one is no exception. I have been researching Anorexia recently, and because of that I feel compelled to put a warning that this book might be seen as a bit triggering.

That being said, it was a great read, and I blew through it so fast that it left me wanting more.

I purchased this book from the store to read. All opinions are my own. ????? Letting Ana Go by Anonymous (an Anonymous Diaries Book). Ana was an athlete just figuring outhow to be a sophomore when school comes to an end and she's heading into summer before her junior year. After a week in the summer with her ballerina friend she learns to count calories to shed a few pounds and land a great guy. Only in the turmoil of her parents divorce she becomes obsessed with shedding more pounds and when school starts and new clothes are bought and homecoming dance in her sights she buys a size 2 dress determining to be small enough to get in it. Her diary leads you through her thoughts of how she was sent into counting calories, dropping weight, and controlling her life by choosing what she wants to refuse to eat.